How to Manage Web Design Projects

When you’re knee-deep in a project, you have the internal challenge of managing people on your team to get the job done. For the most part, if you’re working within a larger organization, project managers or producers manage the client and the team members to ensure that all the resources (content, people, and so on) are in place and to ensure that the project stays on track. This management model enables you, the designer, to focus on what you do well.

If you are on your own, managing the client and the project schedule and doing all the design and production work can keep you working around the clock.

If you’re on your own, you might pick one thing that you do well and that you enjoy, and offer only that service. Doing all aspects of website design, from creative to programming, is difficult enough; managing the whole process by yourself is even more difficult — unless project management is that one service you offer. If you do only one thing (such as information design, Flash animation, or web creative direction), you need to manage only the one deliverable. When you’re a specialist, marketing your services is easier than if you’re a generalist. You can market directly to clients, to design agencies, and even to other freelance designers and producers who need your piece of the puzzle on their projects.